See You Later
by cmr2014
Summary: When love is real, it's never "goodbye", just "see you later".
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: Trigun and its characters belong to Yasuhiro Nightow.

 **See You Later**

"See you later. Good luck."

Those were the last words Meryl Stryfe had spoken to Vash the Stampede, and he was puzzled by them. She had looked like she wanted to say more than that; so why hadn't she?

Every step Vash took was a step closer to a clash of guns. A clash of wills. A clash of brothers. He should be focusing on that.

But instead, he couldn't quit thinking about what Meryl had said.

She could have made a big speech. Could have treated it like the dramatic moment it was. Could have asked him to promise to come back.

Why had Meryl kept it so simple?

After all they had been through since their first encounter, why only give him two sentences as a goodbye?

Vash stopped and looked up into the cloudless blue, a breeze swirling grains of sand around his boots as the answer came to him.

That was it; she wasn't saying goodbye. It was right there in her two sentences; all she was doing was wishing him luck and saying she would see him later, a subtle statement of her faith that he would return alive and intact.

No need to say goodbye, because he would be coming back and she would see him again.

Vash resumed his trek with a smile.

"I get it, insurance girl," he said, partly to himself and partly to the woman who was back there, waiting for him. "See you later."


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: Trigun and its characters belong to Yasuhiro Nightow.

"Finally come out of your coffin, my little vampire?" Vash asked with a grin.

Meryl wasn't yet awake enough to even glare at him. "Caffeine," she demanded.

He laughed as she sat at the kitchen table. Brought her a cup of fresh, hot coffee. "Nothing like waking up at three in the afternoon." Ruffled her bed hair. Meryl was too intent on getting caffeine in her system to even smack his hand away.

Two cups later, she had enough energy to greet him properly, pulling him down for a kiss on the cheek as thanks for the coffee. Trudged off to the shower. As she stepped in to let the process of lather, rinse, and repeat gradually wake her up, she looked at her left hand. At the wedding band that she never had to take off, that would never get lost or tarnished.

Meryl remembered that she had once sworn she would never get a tattoo. "Disgusting, defiling your skin with ink like that," she had said. "That will never be me."

How interesting, then, that Vash had been able to talk her into getting tattoos as their wedding bands. He seemed to have the ability to get her to do the craziest things; as evidenced by the fact that she had left the Bernardelli Insurance Society to make a life with him in this sleepy little village, where she worked at a not-so-sleepy bar.

As evidenced by the fact she had not thought twice about saying yes when he asked her to marry him. The proposal was as goofy as she would have expected from him, but completely earnest. When he swore he would love her forever, she looked into his eyes and knew those words to be true.

So here she was, a band made of ink on her finger that cost less than a regular wedding ring would have. And because of what it meant to her, worth more than even a wedding ring made of the rarest metal.

Meryl smiled with the knowledge that however hard life got, it would always be bearable because she was married to Vash the Stampede. Never mind that people considered him the most dangerous man alive; he was also a sweet, lovable goof; and he was all hers.

After showering, brushing her teeth, and dressing, she ate a quick breakfast and prepared to leave for work.

"Be careful with Knives," she instructed. Vash spent a lot of his free time alone with his brother, trying to get Knives to leave behind a life of hate, and these sessions always worried Meryl. There were things Vash wouldn't do; there was nothing Knives wouldn't do, she was convinced.

"Yes'm," Vash grinned.

"Don't forget to get the groceries later."

"Yes'm."

"And leave the donuts alone, you know you eat too many of them. Pay attention to what I'm telling you, I want you to cut back."

"Yes'm, Miss Daisy, I hears ya."

A light whack on the arm was Vash's reward for his humor. "Be good until I get back, you broom-head." She started to leave for work.

"Hey." Halfway out the door, Meryl turned back at his call. He took a few quick steps to her, fingers brushing back her hair, and gave her a kiss that left her cheeks tinged pink. "See you later."


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: Trigun and its characters belong to Yasuhiro Nightow.

"Milk. Eggs. Bread. Something's missing," Vash mused to himself as he studied the grocery list. "Aha – donuts!" He chuckled at how his wife always left donuts off the list; his insurance girl was forever trying to get him to cut back. "Now let's see, if I were donuts, where would I be stocked?"

Vash followed the aisle signs to where the donuts were. As he ponded whether to buy powdered, chocolate, jelly, or all of them, he absentmindedly rubbed his ring finger. The tattooed-on band was covered by a glove, but he was always aware of it, a permanent reminder of everything Meryl meant to him. "Well," he thought out loud, "just this once I'll humor her and skip the donuts." He left the tasty treats behind, their image in his head replaced by one of a dark-haired, fiery-tempered, short insurance girl who was sure to be pleased at his display of willpower.

Took the groceries up to the checkout. The cashier was pretty, young, and chatty as she rang everything up. "I like your hair," she said. "Most guys can't pull off their own look, they try too hard, but you've got this casual vibe with it, it works for you."

"Thanks," Vash told her, taking his bags. "You have a good'un."

The young lady tugged at his sleeve. "I just wanted to say real quick, I'm off in an hour, if maybe…" Trailed off suggestively, twirling a lock of hair with a flirtatious smile.

He shook his head. "Sorry, but no. I'm sure you're nice, but I'm in love with my insurance girl." Left it at that and returned home.

After putting the groceries away, Vash went upstairs to greet his wife.

Time had taken its toll on her, as it does with everyone. Her body was no longer young, smooth skin now wrinkled, dark hair now light gray. But when she turned to look at her husband and he saw her eyes light up, he grinned. Even with her time coming to an end, Meryl was still, as far as he was concerned, the prettiest girl.

He sat in the chair next to the bed she was in. Removed the glove from his right hand, taking a frail hand in his. She liked his rough, scarred texture. Liked feeling the warmth that came from him; a reflection, she was sure, of the warm, kind soul underneath the scars.

"How are you, insurance girl?"

Meryl smiled weakly. "Better, with you here. Did you remember to get the groceries?"

"I did."

"Did you leave the donuts alone?"

Vash smiled gently. "Yes'm."

"Good. Too many aren't good for you. One of these days you're going to turn into a donut."

Her husband laughed. "Not likely, with you always hiding them from me. I burn plenty of calories trying to find where you've stashed them. You actually hid a case in my punching bag once; poor things were pulverized by the time I found them. Had to eat them right quick to put them out of their misery."

It was Meryl's turn to laugh, starting out strong but ending in a whimper and a cough that eased with some water Vash gave her, lifting her head and tilting the glass to her lips. "Don't make me laugh, you silly broom-head," she said after.

"I'll try not to," he told her, "but I love your laugh now as much as I always have."

Meryl sighed with a smile. "You're hopeless."

"Yes'm, but you knew that going in."

Her hand squeezed his as much as it was able to. "I think I need a nap. And it's probably time for you to visit Knives. These past decades with you have been good for him, you've made a lot of progress. He actually thanked me for the pants I made him for Christmas, when he wasn't griping about them being too tight."

"Progress? Not to hear him tell it. But I'll go chat with Cap'n Tight-Pants, then I'll come back to you."

"Mm." Eyes closed, Meryl was already drifting off.

Vash leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on her cheek. "See you later."


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: Trigun and its characters belong to Yasuhiro Nightow.

"I wish Aunt Milly had lived to make it here," Vash's oldest child, Rem, said. Looking at her was like looking at Meryl, if Meryl had been closer to Vash's height. "It would have been nice to see her one last time."

"It would have," Vash agreed. "But I reckon God needed her a bit more than we did. Just like He needed Meryl."

Father and daughter stood at the gravestone that marked where Meryl had just been laid to rest. His three other daughters and two sons and all of their spouses looked like they were trying to herd cats at a nearby pavilion. Such was what it was like trying to keep order where a baker's dozen of under-ten kids were concerned; the Stryfe genetics certainly shone through in Meryl's grandkids. Of the children of Vash and Meryl, Rem alone was not yet married with kids. She alone had no distractions from the impact of losing her mother.

"How do you do it, Da?" she asked.

"Do what?" her father queried.

"My heart's breaking with grief right now, it's all I can do to keep from crying in front of everyone. You, though, you're smiling as easy as you always did around Ma. How do you smile like that after saying goodbye?"

Vash turned to fully face her, his expression serious yet gentle. "First – like you, I will cry when I'm alone. We keep our pain private, you and I. Second – do you believe you'll see your mother again?"

Her voice wavered. "I think so."

He placed an arm around his grieving daughter's shoulders. "You'll come to know so. And when you do, you'll understand that I never said goodbye to your mother."

Rem couldn't hide the confusion. "What do you mean you never said goodbye? You spoke the longest at the funeral. You dug the grave yourself!"

"None of that was goodbye; goodbye is what you say when it's permanent." Took off his right glove and showed her his tattooed ring finger. "But the only permanent thing is right here, the promise we made each other. All I did was tell the truth, Rem. It wasn't goodbye. It was just –"

He looked up at the sky, knowing in his heart Meryl could see him.

"– see you later."


End file.
